Sylhet-3: Fingerprint mismatch bars Jatiya Party candidate from casting ballot

Jatiya Party parliamentary candidate Atiqur Rahman Atiq has been unable to vote in the Sylhet-3 bypoll because his fingerprints could not be recognised by the Electronic Voting Machine, or EVM.

Atiq is one of five candidates vying for the seat vacated due to the death of the Awami League’s Mahmud Us Samad Chowdhury.

Atiqur Rahman Atiq went to the Rebati Raman High School polling centre at 10 am on Saturday to cast his ballot.

He later told reporters that he had tried to vote at three EVMs, but they did not accept his ballot as his fingerprints did not match those on record.

In order to cast a ballot at an EVM, the user’s fingerprints have to match the ones on the Election Commission’s database.

“Due to technical issues, Jatiya Party candidate Atiqur Rahman Atiq was unable to cast his vote,” said Md Masud Rana, the presiding officer at the polling centre. “We have informed senior officials of the situation. We hope it will be resolved soon.”

Atiq said that election officials had asked him to come back at a later time.

Though Atiq was unable to cast his vote, Awami League candidate Habibur Rahman Habib and independent candidate Shah Ahmed Chowdhury have already cast their ballots.

Habib cast his ballot at the Kamal Bazar Government Primary School centre in Dakshin Surma this morning. Shah Ahmed Chowdhury, a former BNP MP, cast his vote at the Daudia Gousuddin Senior Madrasa polling centre.